Finding What You're Looking For
by were-fan
Summary: Whatever happened to Riley? Warning: If you happen to like him, you won't like this...


Finding What You're Looking For

**Disclaimer:  **All characters are the sole property of Joss Whedon and ME.  My use of them is purely for entertainment value.

**Author's Notes:**  _This is from Riley's POV--thus, all thoughts about Buffy are strictly his own._

  
  
  
Sighing deeply to himself, Riley wiped futilely at the sweat trickling down the back of his neck and looked out of the window into the night. The evening was accompanied by the steady tatoo of water pounding against the metal roof of the Quonset hut. It was raining, yet again. It had been raining for weeks now. It felt like years.  
  
They had cleaned out another nest of demons today before the nightly rains had forced them to move back to base.  The resistance they'd encountered had been almost negligible, but that was most likely because the Initiative had surprised the monsters at dawn, just when all the females were lighting morning fires and the males were still abed.  In fact, most of their raids had been like that.  Despite the regular jungle forays, the greatest danger he'd found down in this nameless Central American jungle were mosquitos the size of Huey helicopters and utter boredom--and thoughts of _her_. Buffy, of course.   
  
Because it was all her fault. It was her own obsession with vampires that had caused him to seek out those fanged whores. It was her stubborn refusal to see how he'd been driven to it, as well, that had put him in the helicopter that took him away from Sunnydale. It was her unwillingness to stop him that had kept him on it, of course. And now he was here, in the heat and the mud.  
  
He briefly considered shining his boots or straightening his room once more for the umpteenth time, but there didn't seem much point in it.  He threw himself down on his perfectly made bed and tried to interest himself in the Initiative's training manual.  After only a few moments, he tossed it across the room and watched it land with a thud in the corner, startling a small lizard.  Sighing once more, he rose from the table, grabbed his rain gear from the peg next to the door, and headed out to the cantina. Drinking the local excuse for tequilla with the rest of his unit wasn't his idea of a good time, but it beat the hell out of sitting alone in his room thinking of her yet again. There was always hope, after all, that he'd finally drink enough to forget about her.  
  
The cantina was small, dingy, and ordering food could rightfully be considered an attempted suicide. The music was loud, however, and the alcohol was cheap and strong enough to kill anything that might be living in the glasses. Although there were a few locals, the majority of the clientele were soldiers like him. The air rung with raunchy jokes and boisterous laughter. Surrounded by his fellow Initiates, he was well into his 6th beer and 4th or 5th shot. Consequently, it took a couple of minutes to register that the rest of guys had fallen silent.  
  
A young woman stood in the doorway. She was slender, almost etheral. The low lighting picked out the blue highlights in her pure black hair and her pale skin almost glowed. She wasn't exactly beautiful but the fact that she was the only woman in the bar increased her attractiveness exponentially and she had the attention of every male in the room.  Although she seemed unconcerned about the water streaming off of her, forming a puddle in the floor, none of the men failed to notice the way her wet dress molded her body. Neither the regard nor the silence seemed to make her nervous, however, and she walked with confidence towards the bar.  
  
All the guys at Riley's table began to nudge one another as they goaded each other about who would approach her. Riley couldn't believe it. After all this time, how could they not know she was a vampire?? He stood up and headed towards her amidst much hooting and hollering.  
  
Without preamble, he grabbed her arm and turned her towards him. She looked startled for a moment, but then she smiled up at him.  
  
"Hello." She said, softly.  
  
Just as softly, he said, "I know what you want."  
  
She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.  
  
"Blood. You want blood." He continued.  
  
"The moon is lost tonight but hides its face with tears, for fear it will be found." She replied.  
  
He was drunk enough that what she said seemed to make sense.  
  
"You don't have to kill anyone tonight, vampire. Come with me and I'll give you what you want." He continued.  
  
"The King of Hearts used to love his Queen, but his heart has been captured and hidden where I can't find it. The King has become the Joker and the stars weep." She said, sadly.   
  
Riley, his hand still on her arm, began to move towards the door. The catcalls and hooting from his comrades grew louder as the two left the building.  
  
Within moments, the two had arrived at his hut and he invited her inside. He began to unbutton his shirt. Once it was off, she stepped to him and gently traced the scars of his other bites with one finger.  
  
He cleared his throat.   
  
"I told you that I could give you what you wanted."  
  
She stepped closer and pressed a kiss to his chest. He put his arms around her. She sniffed along his skin, breathing in deeply. He flinched slightly when she looked up at him angrily.  
  
"You smell of _her_. No, you **stink** of her!"  
  
He shook his head, trying to clear it of the beer and tequilla enough to figure out what she was talking about.  
  
She shoved him back and he hit his bunk hard.  
  
"Everywhere I go, I find _her_!  She is my curse!"  
  
Riley was confused.  
  
"What are you talking about?" He asked.  
  
She didn't answer him. Instead, she slowly stalked over towards where he lay sprawled across the thin mattress.  
  
"The stars whisper and moan!"  
  
Her face changed into her vampire visage. His heart pounded with a potent combination of fear and excitement.  
  
"They make my head pound with their lamenting!" She continued.  
  
She straddled his hips. He panted, harshly. He lifted his wrist to her.  
  
"Do it!" He whispered/demanded.  
  
She pushed his hand to the bed and pinned it under her knee. Grabbing his other arm, she repeated the action. He couldn't move. She smiled down at him. It was a predatory smile, full of the promise of death.  
  
"You said you could give me what I want." She whispered.  
  
With that, Drusilla sank her teeth into his throat and drained him dry.


End file.
